Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Power today reaffirmed its commitment to adhere to strict sound standards and thorough monitoring at its Kingdom Community Wind facility in Lowell. GMP said in a statement that for almost four years now, Kingdom Community Wind has operated at or above capacity delivering enough locally produced energy to power approximately 24,000 homes. GMP's statement said that its community partner, Lowell, overwhelmingly supports the project for the value it brings to the community and the state.
For the last year an independent expert, through the Vermont Department of Public Service, has conducted continuous sound monitoring near Kingdom Community Wind. The raw data for the first month of monitoring was filed today with the Vermont Public Service Board. This report does not isolate sound specific to the project itself. The independent expert will now review and provide clean data, which eliminates background noise unrelated to Kingdom Community Wind to determine sound levels specific to the project itself.
“Kingdom Community Wind continues to be a great asset for our customers offering locally-produced and cost-effective energy to power thousands of Vermont homes,” said Dotty Schnure, Spokesperson for Green Mountain Power. “We’ve committed to forging strong community partnerships by adhering to sound standards and providing ongoing value to Lowell and neighboring towns through our Good Neighbor program.”
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Noises in the environment such as wind in the trees can create sound that is louder than Kingdom Community Wind. At Kingdom Community Wind, sound outside is required to be below 45 dBA, and below 30 dBa inside a neighboring home. Green Mountain Power reports that there have not been any sound complaints for more than six-months.
“We are committed to being a good neighbor and meeting strict state standards. KCW has helped us keep rates low for customers,” Schnure concluded.
GMP said Kingdom Community Wind continues to be a great community asset. Green Mountain Power will once again offer public tours of the project during the summer months. These tours are popular, often filling up fast, and have provided Vermonters and visitors the opportunity to learn more about how wind energy is generated and delivered to customers. The company has hosted a number of schools as well, to educate the next generation of environmental stewards.
To learn more about Kingdom Community Wind and to sign up for a summer 2016 tour visit www.greenmountainpower.com/innovative/wind/windtours/